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Monday, February 3, 2014

After months of winter, bright and vibrant spring colors can be a welcome treat - but the soft pastels are not to be forgotten. White blossoms, soft green buds, even the mud left by spring rain provide a welcome splash of color after all the winter grays. This month I have a beautiful mix of tiny beads in the subtle colors of a garden just starting to bloom.

The mixture includes vintage acrylic: cube beads in pink and transparent brown; golden drops; faceted rounds in pink, green, topaz and purple; and pretty translucent rounds in green, peach and white. All of the beads are 3 and 4 mm - perfect for accents in kumihimo, crochet, or multi-strand designs.

How to Enter

For a chance to win all of the beads shown, leave a comment on this post answering the following question: What is your favorite spring inspiration?

Important: Comments must be made here on Inspirational Beading to qualify. Please make sure to include a contact method in your comment, or through your profile, so that I can get in touch with you if you win! Incomplete or duplicate entries will not be included in the draw.

One lucky winner will be drawn on Tuesday, February 11th. This giveaway is open to all international readers. Good luck!

55 comments:

This is very thoughtful & kind thank you! I live at the beach and most of my inspiration comes from there each season. No day is the same......the shells have certain colors, the waves create amazing patterns in the sand. Time of day changes the blue of the ocean and in the spring everythong seems crisper. Thank you Kim......I love your tutorials, I am new to jewelry making.

My favorite spring inspiration over the last few years has been my garden. I start a lot of my own plants now, so the beginning of spring means sprouting tiny green seedlings and watching the colors and shapes of their leaves change as they mature. The pea plants are first to bloom, opening their delicate white flowers. I am also inspired by the color of the soil. Brown isn't always included in a spring palette, but we'd never get the gorgeous spring flowers without the soil that feeds them.

Thanks for having the giveaway. I like the question, and I'm looking forward to seeing the other responses.

Thanks for the giveaway. The box of beads look like a bunch of ripening pomegranate seeds - just before they get to the delicious red. My spring inspiration comes from buds, cherry and apple blossom and the pale powder blue sky

My favorite spring inspiration is the wonderful colors of springtime blooms. Flowers in bloom are always cheerful and vibrant. To me, they also symbolize Hope of a brand-new season. There is something dreamy and whimsical about them that could be inspiration for works of art, such as a piece of jewelry. :)

For me it's the change in the trees. I have several fancy willows in my yard and they shade from dull brown through to a golden yellow and then red just before being adorned with bright green buds. Right now, the silhouette of the ball of branches ( Hubby likes to shape them ) in glowing red against the background of fir trees is stunning, makes me feel like I should be cheering them on!

My inspiration is my mother's garden and the first flowers of spring. When the crocus and tulips first poke their buds from the thawed soil, I know spring is coming. The colors of the beads here remind me so much of Mom's garden palette which includes lots of pinks and lilacs

My biggest inspiration is the newly migrated birds like the orioles with their neon orange and the many gorgeous colors of the hummingbirds...some of those colors being iridescent. I also enjoy the colors of the spring flowers like the daffodils and the hyacinths...also the fresh, crisp greens of the spring foilage. I love spring...I feel like I come alive after all of those months of cold and snow. I love to see the earth come alive.

Spring is endlessly inspiring, but my favorite Springtime activity is a hike in the forest to stimulate my creativity. The new fern fronds curling out of the leaf littered soil and the first wildflowers opening get me thinking of dangling earrings and coiling bracelets in yellow-greens, creamy white and shades of pink and lavender. Brown is always a favorite with me. I have to stop myself from using it in every thing I make.

The tiny leaves that form just as the buds have burst always catch me by surprise. I live in the north and once the leaves have fallen in October I marvel at the silhouette the branches make against the sky. But by late February and early March I long for the lush green of spring. It's then when I least expect it that they will take me by surprise and suddenly the red hue that will become the veining catches my eye followed soon by a gentle wee bit of green. That's when I know I can look down and see the gentle pastels of my spring garden begin to unfold. The fragile flowers of spring seem so tenuous and but their colors against the debris of fall and winter bring that rush of hope for the warmth that is soon to follow. Spring is the time of caressing hope before the light begins to take on the demanding vividness of summer.

In Alaska, the first Spring flowers show up in June, so I would say that my spring inspiration is the light. The days get noticeably longer in Spring. Even with the yukky gray slush underfoot, the marked increase in daylight imparts the feeling of promise, of wellness, of flowers-to-come.nancysopp@gmail.com

As for spring inspiration, the transformation of nature, scents and returning daylight in general leave me feeling full of energy, poetry and happiness. Spring is about all your senses as nature awakens: the faintest warmth suddenly present in the wind, the sound of water dripping as the snow thaws everywhere, the change in birdsong, the green grass returning and everything starting to bud, the soft pussy willow you just have to touch, the smell of the warming soil.

But when it comes to concrete inspiration it can vary. One thing I always look for, though, are the first snowdrops of the year. Love them -- and their beautiful drop shaped flowers and crisp, fresh colours have inspired my jewellery more than once.

My recent spring inspiration has been beautiful birds flocking back in droves after a hard winter. Exquisite jewel tones breathing life and color back into my work! (Can't wait for spring after this hard winter, it is much needed indeed!)

My favorite inspiration in the spring is the robins. We have such a long winter and the first siting of those plump birds hopping around the grass of my yard is worthy of a celebration. They are also lovely.

My favorite spring inspirations are tulips and daffodils blooming through the snow! That tells me warmer weather is on its way and there will soon be other beautiful flowers and cute baby animals to enjoy.

T Spring brings me the constant sunshine,and the changing once again of the seasonal colors. I live in Il, and we have four seasons here. Winter brings snow, and the excitiment of the upcomming holidays, but also a lot of gloomy greys and dark colors.. Summer brings fun, and sun, and bright colors, and friends. Fall brings the change of beautiful greens and yellows, and summer's left over pinks and lavenders to an end, and brings us to ambers, and browns. But Spring! There is nothing like the change from the dark greys of winter, and the new beginnings spring brings. The fresh flowers begin to bloom, and the colors instantly turn from gloomy to bright and cheery.Pinks, and purples and yellows oranges, and even reds begin to pop! People are smiling, and looking forward to the warming of the tempatures. The birds come out of hidding, and are cherping all around us. Nights get longer, and people that hibernate through the winter begin to show their faces. It is for sure my favorite time of year. DW

Thank you for the lovely giveaway. :)Spring is very inspiring for me. I love the colours, the flowers, the birds, the bees, the sunshine and everything, that happens in this season. :)flowerpowerintherain@gmail.com

My favorite spring inspiration id forsythia. The bush in my yard will bloom yellow when every thing else is still in their frozen winter sleep. I love seeing the bright sunny golden blooms even on a still gray wintery day.Thank you for you inspiring thoughts of warmer weather. Pjclouse1@gmail.com

I remember buying a container of beads just like and wondering why you know you only like "seed beads" but guess what I was able to use everyone with my luck !Spring wow there are so many things here where I live the sea the birds and oh yes plants for me mind is a claredenron since February is my birth month I planted this in my garden and every year this has not disappointed me even when not in bloom this plant is still lovely there are other plants in my garden that I look to for colour patterns my kids think I'm crazy counting all the things in my yard that are in bloom in life we need things that bring us joy and that's what my garden does for me good luck to all cjblue2845@gmail.com

My favourite inspiration would be the chirping of birds in morning... I just love to hear them sing every morning when I leave for my university...! Another inspiration is Pinterest... So many things to admire on there! :)

My inspiration is the flush of color that sweeps over everything. I live near the Wasatch Mountains and it's fun to see the mountains go from white to brown to a lovely green haze. The trees outside my window explode in pink and white blossoms, then open to a happy green.

How cool! And what a lovely assortment of beads... :) my inspirations come BOTH from growing things in Spring - the cute baby leaves and all the vibrant colors and newness! Then in fall the dramatic colors in the trees... Oh how I love that. It always inspires me.

It has been a very cold winter. And I cannot wait for spring. My inspiration is often in the walks I take, and the return of enjoying sunsets, the cloud shapes and colors often seen then.Katskratch36@hotmail.comTammy

My spring inspiration is my tree in my front yard. It sits just out my Kitchen window. I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen and I love seeing the first New Green Leaves. I always start imagining the family having picnics and playing games under it when it gets warm enough, which is just about the time it is halfway to full leaf.

My favourite spring inspiration is the blooming of the Bradford Pear trees------here in the Piedmont of NC, they just pop overnight and are breathtaking. Always makes me want to wear and create delicate jewelry-----

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